Bank Act (S.C. 1991, c. 46)

Marginal note:Designation of body corporate

• 627.48 (1) The Minister may, on the recommendation of the Commissioner, designate a body corporate incorporated under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act or under a provincial statute equivalent to that Act to be the external complaints body to deal with complaints referred to in paragraph 627.43(1)(a) that have not been resolved by its member institutions to the satisfaction of the persons who made the complaints or that have not been dealt with within the prescribed period referred to in that paragraph.

• Marginal note:Matters for consideration

  (2) Before designating a body corporate, the Minister shall take into account all matters that the Minister considers relevant, including whether the body corporate has

  • (a) the reputation required under paragraph 627.49(a); and

  • (b) policies and procedures and terms of reference that would enable it to discharge its functions and perform its activities in a manner that is consistent with the purpose set out in section 627.471 and to comply with paragraphs 627.49(b) to (m).

• Marginal note:Obligation to be member

  (3) Every institution shall be a member of the external complaints body.

• Marginal note:Not an agent

  (4) The external complaints body is not an agent of His Majesty.

• Marginal note:Designation to be published

  (5) A designation made under subsection (1) shall be published in the Canada Gazette.

Marginal note:Requirements

627.49 The external complaints body shall

• (a) maintain a reputation for being operated in a manner that is consistent with the standards of good character and integrity;

• (b) make its services available across Canada in both official languages and offer those services free of charge to persons who make complaints to it;

• (c) establish policies, procedures and terms of reference that are satisfactory to the Commissioner pertaining to, among other things, dealing with complaints and the consultation, at least once a year, of its member institutions and consumers for the purpose of raising concerns about the external complaints body;

• (c.1) establish the manner of calculating, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner, the fees it charges to each of its member institutions for its services;

• (c.2) make information available to consumers about their rights and responsibilities in relation to the external complaints handling regime, respond to their inquiries and requests for information and offer them assistance in making a complaint;

• (d) inform the Commissioner in writing within 30 days after the day on which it determines that a complaint raises a potential systemic issue;

• (e) if it determines that all or part of a complaint is not within its terms of reference, provide the person who made the complaint with written reasons for that determination, and the name of any entity to whom the person may make a complaint, within 30 days after the day on which it receives the complaint;

• (f) obtain confirmation from a member institution to which a complaint relates regarding whether the period referred to in paragraph 627.43(1)(a) has ended, unless the person who made the complaint has provided it with the written acknowledgment referred to in paragraph 627.43(4)(a);

• (g) impartially deal with complaints referred to in paragraph 627.43(1)(a) that have not been resolved by its member institutions to the satisfaction of the persons who made the complaints or that have not been dealt with within the prescribed period referred to in that paragraph;

• (h) no later than 120 days after the day on which it has all of the information that it requires to deal with a complaint, make a final written recommendation to the parties;

• (h.1) without delay, inform the Commissioner in writing of cases in which an institution does not comply with a final recommendation;

• (i) within 90 days after making a final recommendation, make a summary of the final recommendation available on its website free of charge, which summary is to include

  • (i) a description of the nature of the complaint that is the subject of the final recommendation,

  • (ii) the name of the institution that received the complaint,

  • (iii) a description of any compensation provided to the persons referred to in paragraph 627.44(c) or (d),

  • (iv) the reasons for the final recommendation, and

  • (v) any prescribed information;

• (i.1) within 60 days after the end of each quarter, submit to the Commissioner, in a form satisfactory to the Commissioner,

  • (i) in relation to all investigations completed during the quarter, a copy of the record of the complaint, and

  • (ii) any prescribed information;

• (i.2) within 60 days after the end of each quarter, meet with the Commissioner to discuss, among other things, complaints, operations and market trends and issues with the potential to impact consumers;

• (j) within 135 days after the end of each financial year, file a written report with the Commissioner on the performance of its functions and activities for that year, which report is to include

  • (i) information about

    • (A) its constitution, governance and terms of reference, and the identity of its member institutions,

    • (B) all sources of funding for its functions and activities, including the fees charged to each of its member institutions for its services and the manner in which those fees are calculated, and

    • (C) the results of the most recent evaluation referred to in paragraph (l),

  • (ii) a summary of the results of any consultation with its member institutions and with persons who made complaints to it,

  • (iii) in respect of each of its member institutions, the number and nature of complaints that it received, the number of complaints that it determined were within its terms of reference, the number of final recommendations that it made and the number of complaints that, in its opinion, were resolved to the satisfaction of the persons who made them,

  • (iv) the average length of time taken to deal with complaints,

  • (v) the number of complaints that it determined were not within its terms of reference and the reasons for that determination,

  • (v.1) the number of complaints for which an institution did not comply with a final recommendation,

  • (vi) the number of final recommendations that it made in which compensation was recommended, and

  • (vii) the average and total compensation provided with respect to complaints that it determined were within its terms of reference;

• (j.1) meet with the Commissioner annually;

• (k) without delay after it is filed with the Commissioner, make the report available on its website free of charge and provide it to any person who requests it;

• (l) submit, every five years, to an evaluation of the performance of its functions and activities that is conducted, at the discretion of the Commissioner, by the Commissioner or a third party in accordance with terms of reference that are established by the external complaints body in consultation with the Commissioner; and

• (m) meet any prescribed requirement.

627.5 [Repealed, 2023, c. 26, s. 131]

627.51 [Repealed, 2023, c. 26, s. 131]

Marginal note:Provision of information — external complaints body

627.52 An institution shall provide the external complaints body with all information in its possession or control that relates to a complaint in respect of the institution without delay after the external complaints body notifies it that the complaint has been received.

Marginal note:Provision of information

627.53 If an institution or a body corporate is required under sections 627.43 to 627.52 to provide information, it shall do so in a manner, and using language, that is clear, simple and not misleading.

Marginal note:Content of Commissioner’s report

627.54 The Commissioner shall include in the report referred to in section 34 of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act

• (a) the procedures for dealing with complaints established by institutions under paragraph 627.43(1)(a);

• (b) the number and nature of complaints that have been made to the Agency; and

• (c) a summary of the information referred to in section 627.47 and the information in the report referred to in paragraph 627.49(j).

DIVISION 3Disclosure and Transparency for Informed Decisions

Key Product Information

General Requirements

Marginal note:Disclosure of information

• 627.55 (1) If an institution is required under this Division to disclose information, it shall do so in a manner, and using language, that is clear, simple and not misleading, and shall do so in writing, unless otherwise provided for under this Division.

• Marginal note:Agreement by telephone

  (2) Subject to the regulations, an institution that enters into an agreement with a person orally by telephone in respect of a product or service in Canada is deemed to have disclosed in writing the information referred to in subsection (1) if it

  • (a) discloses orally to the person, before entering into the agreement by telephone,

    • (i) the information or any prescribed portion of the information, and

    • (ii) any prescribed information; and

  • (b) provides the information in writing to the person without delay after entering into the agreement.

Marginal note:Disclosure — customers and the public

627.56 If an institution is required under this Division to disclose information to its customers and to the public, it shall do so by

• (a) displaying the information prominently

  • (i) at each of its branches in Canada where it offers products or services and at each of its points of service, and

  • (ii) on each of its websites through which it offers products or services in Canada; and

• (b) providing the information in writing to any person who requests it.

Marginal note:Information box

• 627.57 (1) If an institution is required under this Division to disclose information in an application form or before entering into an agreement in respect of a product or service, it shall, at the time of that disclosure, disclose the information that is prescribed by presenting it prominently in a single prominently displayed information box.

• Marginal note:Information box — disclosure by telephone

  (2) An institution shall orally draw attention to the information that is required to be disclosed in the information box when

  • (a) the institution solicits applications for the product or service from a person orally by telephone; or

  • (b) a person contacts the institution orally by telephone for the purpose of applying for the product or service.

Marginal note:Resource person

627.58 Subject to the regulations, an institution shall, before entering into an agreement with a person by electronic means or by mail in respect of a product or service in Canada, provide the person with the local or toll-free telephone number of a natural person who is an employee or agent of the institution and who is knowledgeable about the terms and conditions of the agreement.

Marginal note:Other products or services

627.59 An institution shall, before entering into an agreement with a natural person in respect of any product or service in Canada to be provided on an ongoing basis and for which disclosure obligations are not otherwise provided under this Division, disclose to that person

• (a) the features of the product or service;

• (b) a list of all charges and penalties applicable to the product or service;

• (c) particulars of the person’s rights and obligations in respect of the product or service;

• (d) the information referred to in paragraphs 627.65(a) to (c); and

• (e) any prescribed information.

Marginal note:Renewal or rollover

• 627.6 (1) If an institution enters into an agreement with a natural person other than for business purposes in respect of a product or service in Canada — other than a loan that is secured by a mortgage on real property — and the agreement provides that a product or service may be renewed or that, after the end of the term of the product or service, a new product or service may be provided to the person without a further agreement being entered into, the institution shall disclose to the person the information set out in subsection (2),

  • (a) in the case of a product or service that is provided for a term of more than 30 days, 21 days before, and five days before, the last day of the term; and

  • (b) in the case of a product or service that is provided for a term of 30 days or less, five days before the last day of the term.

• Marginal note:Content

  (2) The information to be disclosed is the following:

  • (a) the interest rate that will be applicable to the product or service on its renewal, or to the new product or service;

  • (b) any charges or penalties that may be imposed on the person in relation to the product or service on its renewal, or to the new product or service;

  • (c) particulars of the person’s rights and obligations in relation to the product or service on its renewal, or to the new product or service;

  • (d) the period within which the institution shall allow the person to cancel the agreement in respect of the product or service that may be renewed, or in respect of the new product or service; and

  • (e) any prescribed information.